Data SGP serves to provide teachers, administrators, parents and students with essential information regarding student achievement and growth. This data helps guide classroom instruction and plan for future student learning while also helping districts determine which students require additional support to reach proficiency and which are already on track for it.
Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) are calculated based on trends in historical student performance data. Unlike traditional assessment reports, SGPs measure how students have improved over time compared with academic peers rather than being tied directly to any one test or year. Individual Student Reports for math and ELA, as well as NJ SMART Student Growth Percentile Profiles provide access to these rankings for grades 7 through 12 students.
Student Growth Potential (SGP) is calculated by comparing current performance with that of their academic peers using up to two years’ worth of MCAS data. A statistical procedure called quantile regression identifies percentile ranks by norming performance relative to its academic peers on a normative scale and providing their percentile rank.
Students with similar MCAS score histories are placed into academic peer groups. A comparison is then made between their test scores for this year and an average of their previous Student Group Placements in their subject area; if these two values are close, their SGPs will also likely be similar; otherwise if their MCAS histories differ or they weren’t in similar academic peer groups during previous MCAS administrations, their SGPs may vary.
SGPs are calculated based on two assessments by students: their current assessment and at least one from an earlier testing window (fall, winter or spring; not necessarily with their school year in mind). Each year SGPs are revised and adjusted in response to various factors including changes to state standards, individual student performance on past exams and performance of similar students statewide.
At the bottom of each student report and in their Student Growth Percentile Profile in SMART system is shown the current SGP for that student, while school/district and student group SGPs are displayed graphically with each bubble representing one school/district or student group with its size indicative of how many students make up that group; their position on the graph indicating mean SGP for that particular group.
SGP graphs provide districts, schools and parents/guardians an effective way to visualize student progress toward meeting state standards. A variety of resources exist to assist educators with understanding what’s included on a student growth graph and use it effectively when making instructional decisions – visit our SGP District and School Resources webpage for videos, webinars and additional information regarding this tool.